Facts
- German national legislation allowed for redundancy notice (in employment) to be calculated by only accounting for the employees age beyond the age of 25
- The EU Directive (2000/78) provides for the equal treatment (including on the grounds of age) of people in employment
- The Directive had not been implemented by Germany
- Kucukdeveci was laid off with notice calculated in accordance with national rules from his private employer
Issue
- Could Kucukdeveci rely on the directive horizontally (contrary to the usual rule set out in Marshall I [1986] that directive can only have vertical direct effect)?
Decision
- Yes
Reasoning
- The directive mirrored a general principle of law (non-discrimination), allowing the directive to be relied upon
- Opinion: this is difficult to reconcile with the rule that directive may not be interpreted as imposing obligations on individuals, a rule which was upheld in Faccini Dori [1994]
